


Pregnancy

by 4CrazyFriends, Pawpricez (4CrazyFriends)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Egg Binding, Egg Laying, M/M, No Sex, No Smut, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, dreamswap, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 05:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14182248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4CrazyFriends/pseuds/4CrazyFriends, https://archiveofourown.org/users/4CrazyFriends/pseuds/Pawpricez
Summary: Edit July 13 2018: i just saw this again and i wanna die this is so cringy with all this misinformation wtf me why did u write thisIf Dream ever has another kid, he's having Error carry the responsibility of dealing with the pregnancy.(Headcanon story)alternative title: bird boy lays an egg- a multi stage process





	Pregnancy

**Author's Note:**

> Ooof 5000 words
> 
>  
> 
> This has my general headcanons on how most monsters reproduce and (to a lesser degree) rear children. This one's skeleton specific, but most of what's featured here is also shared by some monsters (i.e., bird monsters).
> 
> Also how the fuck do you write an AU you barely know and can't look up once you find out who the creator of it is.
> 
> Sorry for any misinformation.
> 
> OH! Another thing, this is kind of a full-fledged version of a one-shot on here I may or may not finish and/or post. Both will be standalones though can be read together... kinda.
> 
> (P.S. I hate the egg laying part but i redid it twice so fuck it)

If Dream ever has another kid, he's having Error carry the responsibility of dealing with the pregnancy.

Unknown to the public eye, Dream and Error are... uh... secret lovers. Being an owner of a very famous and powerful organization, Dream often has some close calls. They sadly couldn't put it out there that they were both dating, since Dream originally created the Justice Reigns in hopes of saving AUs and... killing Error and company.

You can figure out how it would complicate things.

At first, they _loathed_ each other. Upon accidentally meeting each other, Error would growl, Dream'd fluff up his wings and snarled and spit insults, Error would get angry and they'd eventually desolve to attacking each other. Then one day, Dream just wondered what would happen if Error and his friends died.

After that his hatred for Error kind of nuffled.

Dream started to tell guards that Error was in this AU when he was really in another and that Error was seen creeping around the perimeter just so he could slip into other AUs without notice or being caught. It was strange and while usually Error would take advantage of that, it seemed like he was confused too.

Soon enough Error was caught and forcefully thrown and locked in the bottom floor. Despite Error's imprisonment, he didn't seem all that nasty about it. After Dream told all the guards that he would be *ahem* interrogating him and to leave him alone with Error, they actually had a nice chat.

They became friends.

They became lovers.

As of today, all of the people in the Justice Reigns currently think that Error's "laying low". Dream didn't say yay or nay to them but they made up their own conclusions so he didn't bother to correct them.

The castle was silent and the night was cool; In Dream's opinion, it was the perfect opportunity for a passionate night, and Error sure seemed to think so too. At the very back part of the castle, Error was in Dream's room- his bedroom- and one thing led to another.

Interpretate it how you'd like.

The room was cool, which was fine by the two. Error was preening Dream's wings and Dream was cuddling Error to a degree, his head on Error's shoulder, and wings opened and relaxed. The sheets were probably stained but they didn't care. The passionate duo were still reeling from the previous euphoria, pleasure and ecstasy. It was nice, relaxing.

Dream lightly purred at Error petting his skull. He loved all the preening, all the touch, all the love... the warm, sticky feeling inside him... the hot breaths of air...

Before Dream knew it, he was asleep.

\---

Dream woke up to hear birds tweeting their heads off and bees buzzing loudly. The blankets were gently tucked around him and he pushed them away.

A note was left on the bedside table. The calligraphy was a little difficult to make out but not impossible.

"Hey, some guards knocked on the first door-"

First door was the one to Dream's office, which leads to his personal living space and ultimately the bedroom.

"-before dawn came and I wasn't sure they were coming into your bedroom or not. I came back later and realized maybe I shouldn't stay just in case.

Your clothes are fine and not stained but I can't say the same for the sheets. Might want to either wash those or throw them out.

P.s., this note's enchanted so that only you can see it."

Error, unlike Dream, didn't have much in the way of clothing and often had to reuse the same outfit over and over, and he often didn't remember that Dream had a many clothes.

Dream's favorite little crown was next to the note, along with the poorly-folded clothes (Dream made a mental note to show him how to fold better) and the pen Error must've used to write the note. Dream put on the gold head gear and opened the closet door, putting yesterday's clothes in the hamper.

He grabbed a fresh, clean outfit and put it on. It wasn't anything truely special or spectacular- It was just regular work clothing. Dream did his usual morning preen and decided to mist later.

His breakfast consisted of some pancakes with berries, fruit and a few seeds as a little treat for the fun last night... Dream felt himself blush slightly at the thought, but then turned back to the pancakes he had made. After cleaning his plate and everything else, seeing the time he decided to go to the office. Everything went by fine.

For at least fifteen minutes, if even that long.

His crop spasmed as his soul refused the magic food. Dream jolted up from his chair and puked into the trash can right next to the table. He coughed, choked and gasped loudly- so much so that guards went into the office to see what was wrong. 

Convincing them that he was okay was easy. Some of them were still weary that Dream wasn't 100% but the skeleton was able to shoo them off. Work after that was somewhat difficult to do with stabbing pains in his soul every few minutes that went by almost immediately as it came.

"This was just an off day..." Dream murmured to noone in particular, "Yes... this'll only last for today."

Well, he ate his words and puked them up too.

\---

The next day Dream was discussing idea about where Error might be to Ink.

Dream wasn't the biggest fan of giving false information to one of his closest co-workers, but as mentioned earlier it probably would be best to keep Ink at arm's length. The good news is that Dream could direct his lowers to not dust Error without questioning, and vice versa- currently the only thing that's really killing people is genocidal monsters and humans...

But there was someone that hit a little too close to home.

"Hey, by the way, did you ever notice that Nightmare, Cross- you know, the others- haven't tried to kill any of us in a while?"

Dream was so shocked he was literally unable to form words. Thankfully, Ink did not notice as he rambled on. "I guess maybe you telling us to leave them alive was a good idea; I mean, yes, they injure us, but they haven't massacred us to dust yet."

Dream caught himself quickly though to answer, "I had a feeling that it would probably help."

Ink looked at him funny, but did not continue the conversation. Dream was just getting up as he remembered why he came here in the first place was to drop off official files when the pain in his soul went back again, but this time it was prolonged for a few seconds. Dream felt that sudden feeling that-

Dream bent over and threw up on the wood flooring. Ink cringed out in disgust but there was some concern in his eyes.

"You okay? Dream, you've been throwing up a lot..."

Dream shook his hand in an annoyed manor, his throat, esophagus and crop burning. This was fucking hell.

Ink frowned. "Seriously, Dream, me and Blue are worried about you. What's up? You know you can tell me anything."

Liar.

The way Ink said "anything", though, made it seem malevolent... He felt himself being lifted up by Ink, and he decided not to fight it. He really was not feeling well.

"I think you'll have to call in early tonight, boss..."

Dream agreed.

He felt like a smashed bag of dicks.

\---

Nonononononono!

Okay, this was NOT happening!

The week had not been the greatest with fatigue and vomiting, but this was the cherry on top of his shit Sunday Soda.

Sci scribbled something down on the clipboard, the handwriting similar to Error's but with more confusing formulas.

Dream was reluctant, but Ink had insisted and insisted the entire week to go to this AU's lab and get checked out. Well, Dream couldn't blame him, he WAS throwing up multiple times a day and having pains in his soul that had progressively gotten worse over time, this morning especially bad, (to the point it felt like someone was tearing apart his soul into two) but this current moment made him want to feel that same pain again after what Sci said.

"He... he what?" Ink's jaw literally had dropped, extremely shocked from the new information.

"Yes, Dream's pregnant."

The look Ink gave him told Dream that they were going to have to talk about this.

"Who's the other parent?"

Sci nervously sweated and took a nervous glance at Dream and his ribcage before pushing up his glasses, "That information is currently unavailable until the third stage of Dream's pregnancy."

Once they departed from the AU, Ink roughly grabbed Dream by the wrist and dragged them all the way through the castle to Dream's office. Ink roughly shoved Dream onto the floor and Dream scrambled to get back on his feet.

"Who's the other parent?" Ink repeated his question in a slower, colder tone after closing the door firmly. His facial expression was bonechilling, and Dream was at a loss for words.

"I..."

"Well? Spit it out!" Ink yelled. Dream flinched at the outburst, his wings folded tightly behind his back. "Tell me who you've gotten knocked up by, NOW!"

Dream could easily see the anger seething from Ink. In his fright, all he could stutter out was "I-I don't know!"

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Ink snapped out of his anger.

Dream couldn't have ever been happier to see guards bothering him with something.

\---

Recently, due to the worries of Dream, much of the Justice Reigns have been under the weather due to the leader being down. Maybe any other time this might have made Dream sad, he had other things on his mind.

Error didn't know about the pregnancy yet.

The pains in his soul had stopped when a smaller soul had appeared. Dream didn't need a "parenting for dummies" to figure out what was happening. Well, maybe a little help wouldn't hurt...

Yeah, he knew near to nothing about this.

Third stage? Crop milk? Shelling?

Dream hadn't really been interested in reproducing, so due to that he was very uninformed about the whole thing. That didn't mean he didn't want to keep the kid- he actually WANTED to have the child- but he had a lot to learn.

The cravings were definitely a first.

Dream was rarely- if ever- interested in eating meat. He much preferred things like corn, blueberries, seeds, nuts and food similar to that, but he had rarely eaten meat.

But here Dream was, craving insects. Not chicken or beef or deer, insects.

What the actual hell?

The stares he got made him uncomfortable, but Dream learned to ignore them. He wasn't planning on telling any monsters he was pregnant, it was already bad enough Ink knew.

But even that wasn't the worst part. Dream had been unable to get a hold of Error, and now he was desperate. Usually he could cope with not being able to see his lover for months on end, but he needed to tell him about this!

Telling his guards that he would like to be left alone was the easiest part.

Silently, as to not cause suspicion, Dream formed a portal to an AU that was rarely visited, UnderWorld.

The monsters in the alternative universe were very kind and benevolent, never attacking unless attacked first or seeing Frisk. It was a hot-spot for Error's- or one of his friends- activities because no one ever thinks about him being there. They blended it the crowd their with the dull colors and shabby, somewhat worn clothes. Another great thing: it was a non-sentient AU, so they didn't know that they were multi-dimentional criminals.

While it might be "normal" for Dream to visit AUs, if he ever did them in secret people would suspect, and if he did it in public monsters would be like "hey! Let's visit that AU!" And once that happens... shit hits the fan.

Dream stuck out like a sore thumb there, so he mostly slinked into the treeline of the forest near Snowdin, the favorite place of Error, to see if he could spot him. He only went outside the shadows of the trees when it was necessary and didn't stay a second longer.

Ah, there he was. Wearing a dark brown cloak, Error was heading outside the town and into the forest. Dream hissed a 'hey!' And Error turned to Dream, scared for a second before relaxing. Dream motioned for Error to come follow him. Error looked to the town and to the path that led to the outskirts, before too disappearing into the safety of the trees.

Dream grabbed Error's hand and led them further away from the town before daring to speak. Once they were far away for Dream's likings, Dream hugged Error.

Error reluctantly hugged back, confusion obvious. "Dream...? Are you okay..?" He asked.

Dream smiled, "Yes, I am, but I've been desperate to tell you something..."

Error cocked his head to the side, confused and curious. Dream smiled even wider as he undid his jacket and lifted up his shirt to reveal the soul.

Error's immediate reaction was blushing, but then he realized that there was two souls inside... and it caused him to blush even more and smile shyly, but happily.

"Are you going to keep it..?" Error asked, eyes full of hope. Dream nodded.

Error pulled Dream into a kiss, which he returned back. Error swiped one of his many tongues across Dream's teeth, asking to initiate a french kiss. Dream opened up his mouth and summoned his tongue, feeling a multitude of tongues against his own. Eventually they started moaning in the kiss... and then Dream fell on top of Error, still kissing each other... hehe, um, oops. You can guess what happened in that AU.

\---

Dream's soul was filled with a warm happiness he always longed for. When he got back to the JR, it seemed as though it was just right on time. There was a muffled argument just outside his office, Ink and a guard. The guard was telling him that Dream wanted to be left alone, and Ink wanted to get inside despite that.

Dream got out a file that had some semi-important plans and reports in, ignoring the argument outside.

The door was forced open, and the guard was desperately trying to force the skeleton back. Dream looked up from the desk, trying his best not to look amused.

He made a sign for the guard to give up, seeing as though it was fruitless to try and force Ink back to the hall. The bird monster happily did. Ink slammed the door behind him.

"This better be good, Ink."

Ink immediately opened his mouth, ready to spit fire and fury, until he looked at Dream's appearance. Ink raised a browbone. "What happened to you?"

Oh, shit, he didn't realize his clothes were all crumpled and wrinkly.

"Hm?" Dream hummed in question, looking at his appearance as if he didn't know (which, he actually didn't).

Ink scoffed, "Don't play dumb with me. Tell me, who you been fucking?"

Dream frowned. "Alright, fine, I won't act stupid. But I haven't been having sex with people."

Ink crossed his arms, "and yet you're pregnant. What's that? You didn't get fucked? Liar. Don't act dumb with me, I'm the king of du-.. oops, that wouldn't have come out right..." Ink trailed off, starting to pace.

Dream reached for the last lie he had.

"I didn't have sex with anybody, alright? I had artifical insemination."

Ink immediately whipped his head towards Dream, a look of shock- and happiness?- on his face. Moments of silence passed until Ink asked Dream a question that made him question what Ink was actually wondering...

"What type of monster was it?"

Dream immediately said "A skeleton," But realized that maybe that wasn't the best of ideas to say that, but it seemed to have been the better answer, and Ink smiled. "Did they say who it was?"

Dream shook his head, "No. I didn't ask."

Ink's smile went down slightly, but he was still smiling. "Who do you suspect it is?"

Okay, this was just getting weird.

"I don't know? There's a lot of skeleton monsters in the universes, so it's really like pulling a card out of the deck. Why are you asking? Is there something I don't know?"

Ink smiled, "No, there's nothing," and with that, he walked out of the office before Dream could reply.

\---

The story of Dream having AI went through the JR like a wildfire. No doubt Ink told Blue, and now everywhere he went people were asking him questions about when he started, when he got pregnant, what stage is he in now and things along those lines. It made Dream really uncomfortable.

But maybe the most uncomfortable feeling of all is how Ink and Blue started preening Dream's wings, being all touchy-feely (Dream suspected Ink was trying to cop a feel when he hugged Dream from behind and was absolutely sure the two were staring at his pelvis and ribcage when they thought he wasn't looking), and overall really clingy.

Though the cravings got worse, he wasn't being made fun of or being looked at weird, and some people actually congratulated Dream on having a kid. So maybe it wasn't the worst thing to happen.

Dream stretched his wings, thoroughly enjoying the misting. Water droplets formed on his wings, and he felt the sudden urge to start preening. Dream doesn't really take showers or baths, as it made his wings feel sort of soggy. Give him a good misting any day.

Waterfall's beauty and large amounts of water made this AU his favorite place to get cleaned. It was in a very remote location, and Dream was sure he was one of the only few who have seen this room.

How he actually found this place was on accident. Back when he and Error were enemies, Dream was nearly dust with Error hot on his tail. Dream fled and actually ended up hiding in some of that seaweed grass until Error lost interest or tried to find him else.

That's when he spotted a little hidey hole and crawled into it. It apparently was a small tunnel dug by someone, and it led to a semi-deep pond of water surrounded by echo flowers repeating white noise...

Dream relaxed into the pelvis-deep water, clothes left on a rock nearby the pond, feeling calm and collected. He suddenly felt very weird in his ribcage though, and when he checked the soul seemed to be using magic in creating a shell.

Dream jumped up, flapped his wings to get any water off them as best he could and got on his clothes. He made a portal to Sci's lab.

...

"Shelling?" Dream repeated.

Sci nodded, "It's when the soul has finished development. Shelling means that it will soon have a form after an incubation stage."

"How long will shelling last?"

"Around three days to a week- or two, in some cases."

That day Dream left the lab more confused then he was before. Without realizing it, Dream made a portal to an unknown AU's forest.

He gathered sticks, grass, feathers and moss and when his hands were full he tucked the materiel under his wing. He had gathered and gathered and once he had satisfied that he had gotten enough materials, he summoned a portal to his office and laid down the twigs. It was an instinct that suddenly triggered, Dream building a nest.

And by the end of it, the nest was big enough for two monsters to curl up into along with an egg.

\---

"When do you think you'll be laying?" Blue asked.

Dream shrugged, taking a quick look at the shelling soul. The shell color was a beige striped with various shiny colors of blue. It wasn't fully shielded yet but was getting along.

The soul has starting migrating down south just a few hours ago, and Dream felt weird having different kinds of magic starting to summon. Not ones served for the soul-making purpose, but it was one for laying the egg.

"Do you want to know who the parent is?" Ink asked, preening Dream's wings.

Dream shrugged again, because like hell he was going to allow Sci to figure out who the father was. If Ink and Blue found out it was Error who was the father, hell would freeze over and burst out. He was going to guard the egg until it hatched, and no doubt guard the child for a while afterwards.

\---

Crickets chirped and trees rustled. It was a calm, extremely early morning. Dream felt okay the night before, but when he woke up there was a definite urgency unlike any others he had felt before.

It was still dark outside when he started pacing. His living space, halls, main room. He was greeted by guards every few minutes but it was more deserted then he usually remembers. When he got back to his office he still continued pacing back and forth.

His breathing pace got quicker as he felt his muscles spasming. He needed to lay the egg soon, but his anxiety was getting the best of him.

Feeling the sudden need to be bare, Dream took off his clothes- everything. Shirt, jacket, pants. He could see what was going on now.

The egg was twice as large as his own soul and no doubt even more so for the child's soul. The yellow glow of faux muscles was obvious.

The pain was hard to describe as it was a weird kind he never felt before. It was really a first for him, as it felt like it was contracting and being clawed at the same time. The muscles spasmed. _He needed to lay this egg!_

He lied down on the self-made nest, feeling very slightly better. He tried to lay the egg, and when he did, it got stuck. He tried to have his muscles force the egg out but to no avail. He unsteadily got to his feet, putting on his pants with a lot of trouble, not even bothering with the shirt or jacket. His breathing was labored and no doubt pained, he had so much trouble being steady on his feet and could feel the magic muscles swelling.

It felt so bad, so much to the point Dream was drawing a blank when he wondered how he was going to help. He limped to the door and opened it, leaning on the wall for support.

The skeleton meekly walked to one of the semi-crowded halls. The pain so intense it brought tears to his eyes.

Some monsters surrounded him. He couldn't really make out what they were saying, the pain distracting him but there was shouts? And murmurs? He couldn't understand anything.

"What's going on here?" Ink ran up to the crowd, Blue close behind him, a scowl on his face. Ink was ready to call people out until he saw Dream.

He was egg-binding.

\---

Ink, Blue and a number of other monsters were at Sci's lab. The former was pacing as he was waiting for Sci to work his magic at this. Word had gone out that Dream was egg-binding, and no doubt people were talking about it back at Justice Reigns. Ink's mind was racing; what was going to happen?

A strange figure walked into the lab. Ink stopped his pacing and took a look at the monster. The monster was wearing a brown coat with the hood up. It was made of a poor quality cotton, and no doubt this monster wasn't from this AU. The monster's head was down and covered up partially by a beige scarf.

Blue and others also took a look at the mystery monster, and one of them asked who they were. The monster ignored the question and sat down on one of the few available chairs in this room.

The door creaked, "Dream's okay now. Just another case of egg-binding."

Ink flicked a glance at Sci, "How is he feeling now?"

"He's a little pained and maybe a little dazed from the anesthetic I had to give him, but no permanent damage has been done, thank god," Sci informed

"Can I see him?" Ink asked hopefully.

Sci shook his head, "It will take a while for the drug to wear off. Plus, he's a little territorial right now; incubating the egg, you know."

"Who's the other parent?" Ink asked again.

Sci frowned. "No idea. Couldn't get the egg from Dream."

Ink sighed annoyed, rubbing his face in frustration. He needed to know who the parent was!

\---

Dream curled up alongside the egg, putting his wing over it to cover it completely. He was going to have to figure out what to do with Ink, because no doubt Ink would go to any length to find out who the father was. Ink had gone so far to harass him and Sci about it, and no doubt was in his mind that he would become violent now that Dream had laid the egg which Sci had said he would be able to do some tests to find out who the father was.

Then it suddenly clicked.

The reason Ink wanted to know who the father was, wasn't to know who it isn't, but to know who is! Dream also realized that maybe he thought he or Blue was the parent of the child, which made a lot of sense why they were being very affectionate with him...

OH!

Dream felt very stupid all the sudden. Ink and Blue... wanted to be fathers? Wanted to be the father of Dream's kid? It started to make sense now as Dream started connecting more dots.

Sci opened the door. "I'm not going to cover for you anymore, Dream."

Wait... what?

"Ink is going to be violent with me if I am unable to tell him who the father of your child is, Dream. I just have to ask this; Why?"

"Why what?" Questions were swimming in Dream's head. Where was this heading?

"Why did you decide to have a child... with..."

A moment of silence passed.

"... with Error?"

Dream jolted upright, quickly tucking the egg under his wing. His soul was pounding and his thoughts racing. How did Sci know it was Error's kid?! He voiced that question too.

"I've known it was Error's kid since you first came here pregnant. I did not answer Ink's question truthfully because if I was honest, it would put you in danger. I probably should've told him we would be able to tell once your child had hatched... But now you need to decide what to do."

\---

The brown-cloaked monster was taken with Sci to Dream; Ink, Blue and the other monsters could not follow, Sci said.

Once in the room Dream was in, the monster took off the scarf and pulled down the cloak's good to reveal the dark-boned skeleton himself, Error.

Dream stared at him intensely, face stern, tucking the egg closer to himself and guarding it with his wing, growling lightly when Error walked too close to him.

They initiated eye contact, not saying or doing anything but just looking at each other.

Error then understood what he had to do. Breaking the eye contact, Error lowered himself until he was on one knee. He then regurgitated whatever was left in his crop in front of Dream.

The language he was speaking: "I will provide for you and our child."

Dream's face softened and he gave a smile. He accepted the semi-digested food, got up gently and gave Error a short kiss. They both got on the low bed and both started incubating the egg. Error felt Dream put his wing around him alongside the egg.

They were safer then when they were fighting. They were safer then when they had been secret lovers. They were safer then when Dream was souling. They were safer then when Ink and Blue were flirting with Dream. They were safer then when Dream was egg-binding.

They were in good, loyal, friendly company, they had medical care all around them, they had the egg safe with them and they had all the basic needs met.

It didn't mean everything was completely safe; Ink and Blue, among others, were suspicious and definitely violent. Error is the Destroyer Of Worlds and is on everybody's hitlist. Dream was known throughout the multiverse and if something like this came out, he would end up in Error's situation.

They did not worry about it though. They were only focused on each other and their unhatched child.

"Hey, by the way," Error started, "Thanks for telling me about this, Sci."

"N-no problem," Sci smiled.

"As a thank-you, I'll make sure Fresh knows the coordinates to this AU..."

Sci's face flushed and he made a sort of flustered noise. Error winked and laughed, and Dream couldn't help but giggle, snuggling up closer to Error and the egg.

Yup. Life was great. The duo didn't have to worry about Ink, or Nightmare, or Cross or Blue for now. They could just tease Sci about his little crush, crack the classic "go fuck yourself" and "is it incest or masturbation" jokes, and be all cuddly and lovey without having to keep an ear out for footsteps and knocks, and if they wanted to they could probably mate loudly with only Sci to complain about it.

"What should we call our child..?" Error murmured once darkness came upon them, just before they fell asleep.

"I don't know... How does Noxia sound?" Dream leaned in until their foreheads were touching, nothing but warmth and love in his gaze.

"I love it... I love you..." Error whispered before giving a quick kiss to Dream, whom returned it.

**Author's Note:**

> Stages of pregnancy for most monsters:
> 
> Pre-souling: Often vomiting, fatigue and soul pains. Can last four to ten weeks in some species.
> 
> First stage (Souling): Once a fertile soul has been formed, the child will take spare magic from the adult soul. This stage lasts from one to four months.
> 
> In skeleton monsters, there is a special magic that protects both the souls a great deal due to the lack of flesh to protect the souls in other monsters. Without this magic, the skeleton would be very vulnerable as the adult soul would always be out.
> 
> Second stage (Shelling): After an amount of time, the soul will have enough spare magic to be able to form a shell. This stage typically lasts three days to a week, but two weeks have been a common occurrence. Once a strong shell has been formed, the soul will migrate south due to magic and be ready to be laid. Within 24 hours the monster will lay the egg.
> 
> It is often that parents will be compelled to build nests- this is a common and instinctual practice and is quite normal, and actually advisable. Another thing is that the size of the egg depends on species.
> 
> A huge problem in this stage attacks all monsters, but first time layers, monsters nearing the end of their fertility and shorter monsters (i.e., Alphys or Sans) are particularly at risk. While rare, egg-binding is a serious problem that can lead to permanent issues. The signs of egg-binding is trouble standing/walking, labored breathing and swelling of magic/muscles that force the egg through. If this happens, the monster needs to be taken to the hospital  i m m e d i a t e l y .
> 
> Third stage (Incubation/Feeding): This stage can last two to three-and-a-half months. During this time, one or both parents will incubate the egg and at times will feed raw magic to the soul. 
> 
> It is advised that parents do not put their entire weight on the egg unless extremely lightweight. Rather, lay beside the egg and curl up, adding blankets or other heat-keeping items if necessary.
> 
> Once the egg has hatched or nearing so, some monsters, especially skeleton and bird monsters, will notice that their crop will be in pain. This is normal, especially accompanied by liquid filling up inside it. This is called crop milk and will aid in feeding your children as they cannot live off raw magic anymore.
> 
> Only two monsters give live birth; certain fish monsters (who keep eggs inside them until they hatch), and Boss monsters. Boss monsters go through the Pre-souling and Souling stage, but instead of Shelling/Incubation stages, the soul travels to the female monster's womb and continues to grow.


End file.
